Known axle devices for motor vehicle comprise a wheel receiving unit, on which a shaft or axle and a wheel unit can be fixed, and a support body, on which the wheel receiving unit can be rotatably fixed and through which the wheel receiving unit can be fixed to a body structure. In order to be able to ensure rotation of the wheel receiving unit relative to the support body a bearing unit is arranged between the support body and the wheel receiving unit, which comprises an inner bearing shell designed as a separate component, which is pressed onto the wheel receiving unit and which comprises an outer bearing shell designed as a separate component, which is formed on the support body.
With the known axle device, the individual components are formed from parts that are separate or can be separated from one another, which are joined together by means of screwing/pressing or extruding operations.
Because of the numerous fitting and joining surfaces, the individual parts have to be produced with very low manufacturing tolerances which increases the costs and renders the joining of the individual components difficult and time-intensive.
In order to counteract this problem, an axle device was proposed with the German Patent Application DE 10 2013 012 482.4, with which the inner hearing shell of the bearing unit is formed by a surface portion of the wheel receiving unit and with which the outer bearing shell is formed by a surface portion of the support body, as a result of which it was possible to reduce the manufacturing tolerances and the axle device has less friction and high durability. In order to form the bearing unit by the wheel receiving unit and the support body, rolling bearing steel is utilized here, as a result of which the weight of the axle device is increased.